


Fury's Initiative

by Superstitious



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Gen, Humor, Spy - Freeform, mission, young avengers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 20:16:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/944183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superstitious/pseuds/Superstitious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*set after the movie* While the Avengers were away on a mission in Paris Director Fury went on one of his own: he put together a B-Team. A team full of people who may hopefully one day rival the Avengers themselves. Now they're back from Europe and ready to take on their biggest challenge yet, mentoring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> R&R? This is just something a friend of mine and I put together for fun. Please no flames.

**09:00**

**Level 3, Conference room**

Director Fury paced around a windowless conference room in his helicarrier, his coat dragging on the floor as he walked. He shook his head in disdain. They were the best he had and they wouldn't show up on time if their lives depended on it.

After ten more agonizing minutes of pacing, the door to the conference room breezed open and five exhausted Avengers stumbled in.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Fury said sarcastically as they took their seats, "What? No small talk? No banter? What's wrong with all of you?" he asked his normally boisterous team.

"Sir, with all due respect," Natasha started, rubbing her temples profusely, "we just got back from a sixteen hour flight after a two week mission in Europe running around on two hours of sleep a night. We're not exactly...in the mood."

"I second that notion," Tony said from across the table, raising his hand. He was in a classic Tony position: chair back, feet up on the table, drink in hand. His boots left smudges of dirt on the table's clean glass surface.

Director Fury continued on, electing to ignore Tony, "Agent Romanoff, I would not have asked you all to be here on such…short notice...if it wasn't important. There are going to be some big changes made here over the next few weeks, and I want you all to be ready."

"Sir, I'd like to say right now that the incident in the lab was not my fault. I never touched bird boy's arrows," Tony said, leaping to his feet as he launched into his defense.

Clint stood up so fast that his chair fell over. "YOU did that? Stark you are so going to pay for this-"

Director Fury silenced them both with the wave of a hand, "That isn't why we're here, Stark. But you know what, meet me in my office after this. I may only have one eye, but I see everything." Tony sat down abruptly. Agent Barton righted his chair and followed suit.

"While you were all away in paradise, a project that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been working on for a very long time was put into motion. We thought you all should be the first to know since, after all, you will be in charge of it," Fury sat back and let what he said sink in.

"Do I even want to know?" Steve asked hesitantly.

Fury ignored him as well, "We need a new team; some fresh man power in the field."

"Great, you're replacing us already? I really don't see how anyone can beat flying a nuke into space and almost dying to save the whole population of New York City," Tony said sarcastically.

"Mr. Stark, I will ask you one last time to please control yourself," Fury said.

"You never asked me a first time!" Tony exclaimed throwing his hands in the air. His drink sloshed out of his glass, narrowly missing Agent Barton. Clint sent glares Tony's way.

Fury shrugged. "I assumed it was implied." With that, he stood up from his chair and walked over to a map on a board at the front of the room. "Over the past nine months we've been searching the world and checking it twice, looking for just the right people to make up our B-Team, a backup for your sorry asses. What happens when you're away and the world needs saving again?"

"We…call Thor to come back from Asgard and help us again?" Tony offered.

Fury ignored him again. "I brought in some agents whom I trust, and a new recruit," he gestured towards a woman standing by the door, "Agent Kelson. They helped in the search and, after much deliberation, we have built a second team. They're the best of the best."

Tony coughed loudly, which Fury ignored once more, "They're young though. Most of them minors. The oldest is 19. We thought it would be good to start young. For the next few weeks, hell, maybe even the next few months, you will be aiding in their training. If any of you try anything on any of them, there will be consequences. Stark, I mean you," Fury said, throwing Tony a glare.

As if on cue, Agent Kelson walked forward towards the table; she wore a standard navy blue S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform with her light brown hair pulled back into a sleek, tight pony tail. She smartly adjusted her glasses and distributed manila folders to each member of the team. Once she was done she casually leaned against the nearest wall to listen to the director once more.

"Now, if you would all turn your attention to the folders in front of you, inside you will find the files of each of our newest recruits. You better read up," Director Fury said, putting his black shades on. "You've got a long couple of months ahead of you."


	2. Is This A Good Idea?

**01:12**

**Level 1, living quarters of Tony Stark**

Tony sat on his bed, propped up by a multitude of pillows. He had a book Bruce lent him on micro-engineering in one hand, and an ice cold beer in the other. Of course, Tony was the only one awake at one in the morning after their most recent mission reading a book in his sad excuse for a room. Tony Stark didn't need sleep, no; all he needed was a nice beer. A book too. A book worked.

After a few more paragraphs, Tony closed the book and threw it in the general direction of the opposite wall. He didn't bother to look up, not caring where it landed. He instead reached over and placed his drink on the nightstand.

There, staring back at him, was the folder. Its manila-ness was bothering Tony. He wanted so badly to open the folder and see what and whom they were dealing with, had wanted to since he first received the folder that morning, but of course he was an egotistical S.O.B. so his pride held him back. He didn't want some young punks to come in and take over his spotlight or, dare he say it, be better at the job than he was.

After the battle raging inside him subsided, Tony picked up the folder with a sigh. He had already been reprimanded by Director Fury once in the short hours he had been back; he didn't want to try for a second time.

 

**01:19**

**Level 1, living quarters of Bruce Banner**

Bruce was sitting up straight on his bed, reading the files on their new "teammates." He was still in his dress clothes. Bruce found himself laughing in amusement as he heard something hit the wall behind him in Tony's room. Probably the book he had let him borrow. After a moment of pondering he resumed reading the files in front of him. As he read further his brows furrowed together. This was not what he had been thinking of when Director Fury said they had a new mission. Despite all his doubts, the more he read about them, the more he wanted to meet these kids. Bruce just wondered how "The Other Guy" would handle it.

'Yes, more stress for me,' he thought, 'so much for a "stress free" environment.'

 

**02:28**

**Level 1, living quarters of Natasha Romanoff**

For the last hour or so, Natasha had been diving into the folders of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s newest team. She had nothing better to do and sleep was not coming to her easily. Her doubts about the plan lingered in the back of her mind, but the more her eyes skimmed the dossier in front of her, the more she liked what she saw. Fury had put together a helluva team.

They had a deadly accurate assassin like herself, a kid who could wipe memories and crush objects at will, a boy genius who might as well be a walking computer, an intelligent girl with heightened senses who could read your mind, and a boy that was a super strong, super-fast version of Nightcrawler.

Natasha looked forward to meeting them.

 

**03:09**

**Level 1, living quarters of Clint Barton**

Clint, like the rest of his comrades, was reading up on these new recruits in his room, analyzing each one like a lab sample. He had tacked pictures of each of the members to his wall for the time being. He wasn't so sure this was a good idea, but S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't failed him yet.

 

**03:46**

**Level 1, living quarters of Steve Rogers**

Unlike the rest of his teammates Steve was sleeping soundly in his room, feet dangling over the edge of the bed. Steve was a bit more responsible than the other Avengers and had read the file reports as soon as Director Fury had dismissed them from the conference room earlier that morning.

 

**07:00**

**Level 3, Director Fury's office**

Director Fury sat at his desk going over their files one more time. "When are they arriving?" he asked Agent Kelson.

"Today," Kelson paused to check her watch. "They should be here around noon."

"Excellent," Fury said, thinking, "Agent, do you think this is a good idea?"

"Would you like me to answer truthfully or give you false confidence?" she asked as she sat down in a chair in front of his desk.

Fury shot her a look, "Don't sass me," he said looking back down at the papers.

Agent Kelson thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully, "Yes sir, I do. I think this might actually work."


	3. Don't, 'aye, aye, sir,' me

**12:05**

**Landing Deck**

Director Fury and Agent Kelson waited anxiously on the landing deck of the helicarrier. Kelson was checking and double checking her clipboard whilst nervously chewing the top of her pen. Fury remained the embodiment of calm. Their newly assembled team was due to arrive any minute. The Avengers were out on the landing deck as well, standing in a circle talking to the left of the director and agent.

Fury took out a pair of binoculars and scanned the sky for the fifth time in ten minutes. Finally, he found what he was looking for. Lowering his binoculars he called out to the Avengers, "Here come your new friends."

The seven of them walked eagerly towards the descending aircraft and stopped short as it sped down the runway. As it came to a stop the team was practically climbing the walls in anticipation. After what felt like forever, the back door opened and the new team emerged.

The Avengers were surprised by how young the group looked in person, but they knew how dangerous each one was and were not going to underestimate them. They were silently attempting to see if they could match the names they had read in the file to the newcomers' faces.

Each recruit was carrying a small duffle bag either slung over their shoulder or dragging on the ground. They were also equipped with a standard black S.H.I.E.L.D. issued backpack. For now they were all wearing civilian clothes, standard jeans and a t-shirt with boots and a jacket, but that would all change soon. Director Fury caught Tony smirking. He was thinking about how all new recruits had to wear the ugly, grey, tight, uncomfortable S.H.I.E.L.D. training uniforms to signify they were rookies.

As the team walked nearer to Fury he could see that most of them had wide eyes and big smiles on their faces. He let them enjoy it for now. Poor suckers didn't know what they were in for. They all stopped in front of the Avengers and become uncomfortable. Should they salute? Stand at attention? Bow? Get on their knees and kowtow?

Thankfully, Director Fury solved the problem for them by speaking up. "Good afternoon recruits, I hope you all had a nice relaxing ride over here. You're not getting another one for a long time, he smirked. "Now, my friends over here," he gestured to the Avengers, "will show you to your rooms. Get settled, and then meet me in the conference room on Level 3 for a debriefing later on."

The new team dutifully nodded toward the director, and then tried to keep up with the Avengers who were already halfway towards the door. After a short sprint they caught up. The rest of the walk to their room was silent. The air was so thick with tension that a knife couldn't cut through. Natasha finally broke it:

"I guess I'll be the mature one here and make introductions," she said briskly as they walked. "We know everything about you, and you probably know everything about us, but for the sake of manners let's pretend we don't. My name is Natasha Romanoff." She was greeted with a few 'nice to meet you's', "and I'm a spy for the Russian government, or was."

The other avengers caught on that she would help them no further, so Bruce spoke up next, adjusting his glasses before speaking. "Hello…friends…my name is Bruce Banner. I'm just a lab experiment gone wrong." He received the same response.

Tony took the spotlight next. "Tony Stark- genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Oh yeah, I'm Iron Man too." Tony was met with a few 'heys' from the guys.

Clint stepped up to the plate with a speedy introduction. "My name's Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye. Or Legolas as some call me." He glared at Stark.

Lastly Steve spoke up. "My name's Steve Rogers and I'm Captain America. I'm still not used to this century after 70 years of being frozen in ice. Maybe you kids can help me with picking some things up."

Some of the kids laughed at his remark, while others just rolled their eyes.

"You guys don't seem very thrilled to be here," Natasha said as they continued walking.

A short Asian girl spoke up. "Well, I'm pretty sure most of us have either already been on this helicarrier, or have already dealt with at least one of you."

"True," Natasha said.

A tall, lean boy with sandy blonde hair and green eyes that seemed to search your soul spoke up next. "I was perfectly happy with my life back home, and then I was suddenly just whisked away," he threw up his hand, "by an unmarked aircraft. Do you think I want to be here?"

"That's not what you told me last time I saw you," Tony shot back to him. He was rewarded with a scowl from the boy.

Bruce intervened. "So," he said hesitantly, "are you guys going to introduce yourselves to us?"

A very tall, seemingly silent, reserved boy in the back of the group spoke up first. "My name's Matthew Grey. I'm nothing special."

"Ah yes," Tony said, "The boy genius…and Youtube sensation," Tony added after a pause. Matthew blushed a bit. Tony was referring to the video that went viral a few years ago of Matthew solving a notoriously hard math equation in just ten minutes, the only reason he was here to begin with.

The boy with the sandy hair spoke up next, "The name's Turner, Ethan Turner," he said with a wolfish grin.

"Our own Nightcrawler. Or night _mare_ ," Natasha said, rolling her eyes. Just then they came to an elevator. To demonstrate his abilities, Ethan teleported himself inside the elevator and casually leaned against the wall as if he had been there forever.

"Classy," Natasha remarked as she stepped inside.

"I'm fast too," Ethan said in a mildly suggestive fashion. Natasha chose to ignore him, using all of her self-control to stop herself from seriously injuring the kid in a very sensitive area. Aside from that, the rest of the elevator ride continued smoothly and the introductions started flowing freely.

The petite Asian girl from before spoke up. She could barely be seen over the heads of the others. "My name's Alexandria Wong, but you can call me Alex." Her voice was laced with the tiniest hint of an Asian accent. She paused, looking at nothing in particular before adding, "Hello, Agent Barton, nice to meet you too. Yes, I can actually read your mind and am doing so this very second." From the corner of the elevator Clint didn't look at all surprised.

"Oh, by the way," she said, turning to Tony, "you really shouldn't use so much cologne. It's very…strong."

"Oh yeah…" Tony said, "Forgot about you. Guys," he said, turning to the other four avengers, "from now on try to keep your thoughts PG." Four sets of eyes rolled in response.

The next person in line stepped up. A boy who was incredibly tall (clearly over 6 feet) with curly reddish hair spoke next. "My name is Cadel Fritz. I can wipe memories and make things go boom," he said nonchalantly.

The elevator stopped as they reached their destination. Walking out Steve spoke up. "Yes, I definitely remember that incident. Actually, no, I don't. I'm sure Natasha does though," he said half sarcastically, half-jokingly. He recalled the first time they ran into Cadel in the streets with his sister. He and Black Widow were on a mission and were tailing their target. They were so focused on the job they never noticed Cadel and his sister until the Captain accidentally walked into her. Natasha told him later that Cadel wiped his memory out of fear. The last thing Steve remembered Natasha giving the kid their card and saying, "We'll be in touch."

After Cadel gave a slightly nervous laugh, the last member of the B-team, another girl, spoke up. She was even shorter than Alex, with amber eyes and short, choppy blonde hair. "Hello everyone, my name is Kendall Lee," she said assertively, "and I'm an assassin."

"How old are you again?" Tony piped up sarcastically.

"I started that young. There's nothing wrong with it," Natasha said blandly, shrugging. She looked down at her clipboard then back at the room numbers on the doors as they passed.

"Geez, these rooms are tiny!" Ethan said peering through the open door of one of the rooms as it slid open. There was a bed that didn't look at all comfy, a nightstand that also functioned as a dresser, and a chair in the corner. A closed door adjacent to the bed led to another room which he assumed was the bathroom. "Everything's so new and…automatic…and shiny."

"It's pretty high tech here," Bruce said with the hint of a smile.

As they continued further down the hallway, Natasha suddenly stopped, causing everyone behind her to almost crash into each other. "Room 117," she said, "This is you, Turner. The rest of you are here as well. Cadel, you're in room 118. Kendall, room 119. Alex, room 120. And Matthew, you're in room 121. Get your stuff situated and then meet Director Fury on Level 3 in the conference room. He expects you to be there by two this afternoon, no later."

"Thanks." Matthew said as he picked up his duffle bag, "Just one teeny, tiny question before you guys go." He paused before speaking again. "How do we get to Level 3, and where the hell is the conference room?"

Natasha sighed heavily at this. She had never been good with kids, "Look-," she started in an exasperated voice.

Before she could finish Tony interjected. "Well, I guess someone will just have to come back for you guys at two! See ya round, kiddies. I'm gonna go grab a beer, anyone else up for it? Well…except for the young ones, of course," he said as he slowly started walking away backwards, gesturing towards the Avengers. Before anyone could say a word Tony was already speeding down the hallway.

"You're going to pay for this, Stark!" Steve shouted to his back.

"Whatever you say, Cap!" Tony called back from further up the hallway. Bruce shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. If he could survive this, he could survive anything.

**13:45**

**Level 1, living quarters**

After they dropped the teens off, the Avengers retired to their lounge. It was off limits to everyone except themselves, Director Fury, and invited parties. They took some time to relax and talk about the new team. Most of the Avengers liked them, with the exception of Tony, who was forever a narcissist. He thought of the kids as interlopers rather than as assistance for the Avengers.

When one thirty came around, they got into an argument over who would take their newest members up to Level 3 to meet with the Director. After a long debate, one that involved Tony suggesting they leave the poor rookies to fend for themselves, they decided to be civil and draw straws. They all elected Bruce to distribute the straws to make things fair.

To his greatest displeasure, Tony ended up with the short stick.

"Karma's a bitch, ain't it?" Clint said with a sneer as he reclined on the couch, TV remote in hand.

"Shut up, bird boy, your day's coming." Tony said, strolling through the sliding doors of the lounge.

**14:02**

**Level 3, Conference room**

Director Fury once again found himself pacing the conference room as Agent Kelson leaned against the wall, casually cleaning her glasses.

"I should have sent you to collect them, Agent, seeing as my team couldn't handle even that simple task."

"Don't worry, Sir. I'm sure they'll be here any moment," Agent Kelson said with as much confidence as she could muster. Just then the doors opened with a swish and none other than Tony Stark entered. He was shadowed by the young avengers who were bickering amongst themselves.

"I told you we should've just left instead of waiting around for someone to collect us!" Matthew said angrily. He was clearly growing distressed.

"Well, it was better than wandering off and getting lost for an extra hour or two," Alex hissed back at him.

"I told you guys I knew how to get here like, half an hour ago!" Ethan complained. "I was teleporting around and actually found this room!"

"You guys do realize we could've just asked for directions?" Kendall cut in. Cadel just stood in the back, laughing at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

Agent Kelson rolled her eyes at the bickering team. "Remind you of anyone?" She asked, throwing Director Fury an amused look.

"Just... don't." He said putting up a hand to silence her. Fury then turned his attentions to Tony. "Stark," he started, "Just…" he paused before sighing heavily. "You're dismissed."

Tony turned on his heels and exited the room gleefully. "Thank you, Nick my boy!" he said as the door closed with another swish. Fury made a mental note to call Stark into his office for another "chat". He then turned his attention to the bickering team. With a loud whistle, they were silenced.

"It's nice to see you've gotten to know each other. Now sit down." He said, his face like stone. He pointed to the chairs around the table. Each member dutifully took their seats. "Rule number one," he started as he and Agent Kelson took their own seats, "You may only refer to me as Sir, Director, or Director Fury. You are to never call me anything else. And if any of you ever "aye, aye, sir" me, you will find yourself being thrown off this helicarrier faster than you can say 'I plead the fifth.' Understand?" He glared menacingly around the table.

Everyone nodded. They were trying very hard not to stare at his eye patch.

"Good." He leaned back. "The next few weeks will be hell for you, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You all have something special, you wouldn't be here if you didn't, but no matter how well you think you can control your abilities the truth is that you can't. Starting tomorrow you'll start your training. You will all work together on standard weapons training and intelligence. After that we're going to put you through some tests individually to assess your skills. It'll tell Agent Kelson and me what we have to work on." Fury paused for a moment. "I hope you all know what you signed up for."

"Actually-," Cadel started.

Fury held up a hand. Cadel immediately silenced himself. "Training begins at 0800 tomorrow. You'll find a uniform laid out on your beds when you return to your rooms. That is what you'll be wearing for the next month. You better catch up on your sleep; you're going to miss it these next few weeks." He was rewarded with some groans from the kids.

Agent Kelson stepped up and spoke. "Our commissary is on Level 2. Just keep walking and eventually you'll find it. If you ever need help with anything, or you need something, you can always find me in my office right down the hall."

"I think this is an appropriate time to dismiss. What do you think, Agent?" Fury asked, turning to her.

"I agree, Sir."

"Very well, you all are dismissed. Dinner is at 0500. Don't be late."


	4. Drop and Give Me Twenty

**07:30**

**Level 2, Commissary**

Cadel, Matthew, Alex, Kendall, and Ethan all sat together at a table towards the back of the mess hall, away from everyone else. They were still a bit wary of each other, but they enjoyed having the company.

The makeshift team sat together in silence. They poked at their food, not particularly hungry but trying to eat nonetheless. Fury had said that this training would be the hardest they had ever been through, and they didn't know when their next meal would be.

As Kendall looked around the commissary, scanning and memorizing all the unfamiliar faces, she spotted the Avengers walking in. She gently nudged Matthew, who alerted the others. They stared. As much as they hated to admit it, deep down they really admired the team. The Avengers were brave, loyal, fearless, and always seemed to know what they were doing. The younger team doubted any of them would be taking down an army of Chitauri anytime soon.

The Avengers were lucky enough to be able to wear civilian clothes. They looked relaxed and comfortable, unlike the younger team who were sporting the uncomfortable gray training uniforms. They felt as if they were about to burst out of the ill-fitting second skin at any given moment.

As Natasha looked around the dining hall, she spotted them staring and spared them a quick nod of the head. The collection of youngsters nodded solemnly back at her.

After a few more minutes of attempting to eat in silence, Matthew stood up and threw his food away. "We should get moving. The last thing I want to do is be late."

"Yeah…" Cadel agreed reluctantly. The five deposited their trays and headed out. They had less than ten minutes to make it to the training area.

Cadel stopped at the doors leading from the commissary. "Where were we supposed to meet the trainer again?"

**07:59**

**Level 2, Gym**

The team made it to the gym with exactly one minute to spare. Their trainer, who was waiting for them when they arrived, was an aging man, probably in his mid-forties with graying hair. His eyes were hard but held a flicker of mischief. He was of average height, very muscular, and bore an intimidating demeanor. A woman stood next to him. She was fairly tall, with dark brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She had bangs straight across her forehead and analyzing eyes. She wore a standard navy blue S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform and held a clipboard.

"Well, wasn't that close?" The man said with a smile.

"No kidding," Cadel said, slightly out of breath from running.

The trainer's gaze hardened. "No sass here. Every comment I hear, the longer you train. Trust me, you don't want that." Cadel straightened up as he continued. "Now, let me lay down the rules. You are to only address me as Sir. Anything else and you will be doing pushups until your arms give out." he said. Nothing in his voice suggested he was joking. "I know what I'm dealing with when it comes to you kids. You are special, but if any of you tries anything with me, you will all regret the day you were born."

The team cringed.

He continued. "You will be here every morning at 0800, not a minute late or else you'll be scrubbing the bathrooms in your free time with a toothbrush. Your own toothbrush," he added with a sneer. "Do I make myself clear?"

The team nodded.

"Good," he said curtly. "Ms. Hill here," he motioned to the woman, "will be monitoring you and keeping track of your results." The team nodded once more, not knowing exactly how to react. "Now, we start with your warm-ups." He gave them a smile that left them quaking in their boots.

**10:14**

**Level 2, Gym**

Ten minutes of stretching, 50 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 200 jumping jacks, and a five mile run later, the team was sprawled out on the floor. They were sweating buckets and exhausted, both mentally and physically. Most of them could barely stand.

"I really hate exercise…" Kendall muttered under her breath.

"Did you just say you want to drop and give me twenty more?" The trainer barked at her.

"No sir," Kendall replied back. The response was almost automatic- she just wanted this torture to end.

"Good, that was just a warm-up." The team groaned. "You will always start your training with this routine. Over time we can only hope you'll get better and faster. Now," he said while walking towards the other side of the gym, "we get to our last event of the day." The team hoisted themselves and each other off the ground and shuffled towards their trainer and Maria Hill. None of them wanted to do anything more than go back to their beds and sleep for a week. The trainer stopped in front of a two story obstacle course. The kids almost collapsed into tears.

"When each of you completes this you will be dismissed for the day. You should be just in time for lunch, if you're lucky. When you're done you are to meet Director Fury back here for round two." The man smiled devilishly. "Good luck."

He sent them one at a time. They went in in order of who had finished the full warm up fastest. Maria had documented their scores. Ethan was up first. His street life had prepared him for the 5k run, so he had finished first. Kendall was second. She had finished the initial warm up before everyone else, but only came in third for the run. Cadel went third. He had finished with an average time on the strength exercises and second on the run. Alex went fourth. She had been pretty speedy with the jumping jacks and sit ups, but the pushups slowed her down a lot. On the run she came in tied for third with Kendall. Matthew was last. He didn't care. He was definitely more brainy than brawny, and was at peace with the fact that he held no athletic skills whatsoever.

The obstacle course consisted of three separate parts. The first was the classic crawl under barbed wire (for safety purposes, the barbed wire had been replaced with regular wire). There were exactly twenty inches between the gym floor and the wire, which went on for fifteen feet. To encourage them, the trainer told the kids he would make them do twenty pushups every time someone hit the wire. When they had finished with the wire, they were to clamber through a small set of monkey bars. He would add fifty jumping jacks for every person that fell off of them.

The second part was a rock wall. It was exactly thirty feet tall and fifteen feet wide. When a team member finally reached the top, they found themselves on a small platform. They had to take off their rock climbing harness and toss it down to the next person. They then proceeded to put on another harness in order to rappel down the wall on the opposite side.

There they found the third and final exercise of the day. It was deceptively easy. By this point the person taking the course would be exhausted, their muscles would be screaming and their legs about to give. The last obstacle was a ladder. However, this was no ordinary ladder, it was twenty-five feet high and looked fit for a giant. It was ten feet wide and the rungs were placed exactly two feet apart. Once you got to the top you had to climb over and go back down. After that you were finished.

The trainer made each recruit repeat a section if they failed it.

**12:43**

**Level 2, Gym**

Like the trainer said, the team just barely made it through the course in time for lunch. Once they completed the last part, they had to do an extra fifty jumping jacks and forty pushups. They ended up with seventeen minutes left to take a quick shower.

Nobody wanted to get up off the floor where they had happily made camp after finishing their exercises, but after a few minutes Kendall, Alex, and Matthew decided to go and shower quickly before lunch. Cadel and Ethan sucked it up and headed to lunch. Why bother when they were just going to go at it again later that day?

**13:08**

**Level 2, Commissary**

Once again the team found themselves in the back of the mess hall.

Alone.

They had received a few sympathetic looks from higher ranking agents, but nothing more. There was no chatter at the team's table. They were all busy either nursing their sore muscles or devouring their food.

"Well," Kendall said, breaking the silence that had settled upon them while they were eating, "that was brutal."

"Brutal doesn't even begin to cover it," Alex said as she sat back down, fresh water bottle in hand.

"I will never take my musculatory system for granted again," Matthew said as he adjusted his glasses. He had struggled to keep them on and in one piece throughout the whole ordeal. "The first thing I'm going to do when I get back to my room tonight is investing in contacts." He received a few half-hearted laughs.

"I can't believe we have to put up with that drill sergeant for the next month," Ethan said with a groan.

"Maybe your attitude will improve by then," Kendall added with a snicker. Ethan shot her a glare in reply.

"Please, just nobody get on that man's bad side. I don't want to do more manual labor than I need to," Cadel said. He started rambling on about self-preservation and common sense until Alex put a hand up to stop him. They savored their last few moments of nonmoving bliss, and then dragged themselves back to the gym to meet with Director Fury.

**13:48**

**Level 2, Gym**

The team sat on some benches towards the side of the gym while they waited for Fury. They didn't have to wait long. He and Agent Kelson entered the room as the doors opened with a swish. They both had smiles on their faces.

"I see you all survived basic training," Fury said with a grin. "It'll only get worse from here, I promise. Now, the next part of your training should be the easy part. You will all be tested on your weapons and hand to hand combat skills. Afterwards you will go one-on-one with an Avenger to test your abilities. They will note where you need practice and improvement." The kids nodded, most excited to finally work with the Avengers.

"If you will follow me, we'll start part one." They team was led to a target range on the upper deck of the gym. There were ten targets lined up. In front of the first five targets were Glock 19 handguns. In front of the next five targets were bows with three arrows each. Upon closer inspection, some of the adolescents noticed that the bows were the same model as Hawkeye's. They were black Hoyt Buffalo bows.

"You will fire five rounds from the gun and use all your arrows. Try to get as close to the bullseye as you possibly can. After that you will go and wait by the mats downstairs," Fury gestured towards the area, "and then we will begin the hand to hand combat practice. Now, if you will all claim a target in a nice, orderly fashion."

The kids eagerly walked up to a target of their choice. They were all itching to get their hands on the weapons. Kendall was up first with Ethan next to her. Alex was third with Cadel and Matthew further down the line.

Kendall put on safety goggles and earmuffs and picked up the Glock. Taking the safety off the gun, she took aim and shot off five rounds into the target, hitting the bullseye each time. Pleased with herself, she moved on to the bow and arrow. As she waited, Ethan got ready to shoot.

He also had no problem with the firearm. Three of his five shots hit the bullseye. Alex was up next. She already had her protective gear on. She fired the weapon with ease, but only two of her rounds made the bullseye. Cadel made four of his five shots. A few of the bullets mysteriously hit the bullseye when they seemed to be going in another direction, but the Director brushed it off.

Matthew was up last. He felt very uncomfortable with weapons, but tried anyways. One of his shots made the bullseye by a fraction of a centimeter. The rest were wide. He was a bit frustrated with his results, but accepted his lack of experience with grace.

As Agent Kelson, the Director, and the team moved down to the archery section, Kendall geared up. She put on gloves and arm guards, grabbed an arrow and nocked it, then took her stance and drew back. It looked a bit sloppy and awkward, but she shot anyway. Kendall hit the bullseye once. The other two shots were wide. She sighed and put the bow down, then proceeded to walk downstairs.

Ethan was next. He had no experience with a bow and arrow, but tried anyway. He was fairly good considering his lack of training, but didn't make the bullseye. Alex was up next and very eager. The only weapon she really had experience with was the bow and arrow. She put on her gear and set her stance straight. All three of her arrows hit the bullseye and made a neat triangle in the center. After the demonstration she walked off happily to join the others.

Cadel wasn't half bad. One of his arrows made it completely in the center, another went wide, and the last landed right on the border of the bullseye. Matthew didn't really want to try, but he did anyway. His shots were fairly close to the bullseye, but didn't make it.

Once Matthew finished, he, Director Fury, and Agent Kelson went back downstairs to the rest of the group. They were all standing awkwardly around one side of a slightly springy blue mat. A group of teens a bit older than themselves lined the other wall.

"Now, you will step up one at a time and fight one of them," Fury said as he gestured to the group against the wall. "You can surrender any time you want. They are trainees just like yourselves, only more advanced." The team lined up to face off with the older teens. A few offered encouraging smiles. The rest just offered glares.

"So, who wants to go first?" Agent Kelson asked, smiling brightly.

**14:56**

The team handled the hand to hand combat well. It only took around twenty minutes to get through the five of them. Kendall was eager as ever to go first, faced with a lanky girl who was probably no older than herself. She beat the other girl in minutes. Ethan had the same luck. He faced a boy of average build. Ethan's form and strategies from street fighting were inelegant, but brutally effective. Cadel was beaten, but left his opponent with bruises that would last for a while.

Matthew told the Director that he had no experience whatsoever with hand to hand combat and asked if he could be exempt from the exercise. He didn't want to enter a fight he knew he wouldn't win. Fury was a little annoyed, but complied respectively. Alex went last and was also beaten, but she fought well. She preferred to play defensively instead of offensively, occasionally getting a jab or two in.

Afterwards the team headed down another mysterious hallway, dreading what lay ahead.


	5. All Systems Go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A/N: The story has been on hiatus after this chapter since summer of last year. I have scraps of the next chapter, but lost the motivation to write the rest. If I get positive feedback, maybe I'll continue. I dunno. School's starting up in two weeks and it'll get a little crazy.

After heading down the mysterious hallway, the team arrived at an elevator. Once they were all inside, Director Fury pressed an illuminated 5 on the control panel.

"What's on level four?" Matthew asked.

"Interrogation rooms, sick bay, and some labs." Agent Kelson answered dutifully. The team nodded, filing this information away for later.

"And level five?" Alex asked.

"Training facilities. More importantly, level five contains the cultivation chambers." Fury told the members. The team grimaced at hearing the creepy name of the rooms. "We usually just call them training modules."

Once the elevator reached Level 5, they all filed out. Fury led them down a long hallway. As they walked, he would nod occasionally to fellow agents or pay them a respectful greeting. They eventually stopped farther down the corridor, in front of a series of nondescript metal doors.

"Now," Fury started, "Each of you will have your own separate room. Each one is tailored to fit your individual needs with one of the Avengers will be waiting for you inside. We tried to pair you up to match your skill sets as best we could." Fury then turned away, clearly finished speaking.

"Good luck!" Agent Kelson whispered to the team before following her boss down the hallway. They left the teens standing awkwardly in front of the doors. The team members looked at each other in utter confusion. They hadn't been told what room they were supposed to be in.

"I suppose we'll just have to guess," Kendall said, shrugging. Each team member hesitantly stepped towards a door.

Matthew scoffed. "I can't believe we're doing this," he said exasperatedly.

"Nor can I." Alex said as she experimentally opened the door closest to her. She took one peek inside and then jerked her head back out, closing the door behind her. "Definitely not my room," she said with a bit of a laugh.

Matthew raised an eyebrow at her. "Honestly, I think that's your room." Alex said, gesturing to Cadel.

"Okay," he said nonchalantly, turning the knob. He took one peek inside and said, "Yup, you're right." With that he went inside and closed the door behind him.

"What was in there?" Ethan asked Alex curiously.

"It was crazy!" She said excitedly, her hands moving wildly in the air. "Captain America himself was in there! And on top of that the room was huge! There was a desk with a computer on it, and then a table on the other side with all these random things on it- I saw a soda can and car tire!"

Matthew nodded approvingly. "They sure know what they're doing." He turned to the door on his right and opened it. Inside he found Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, and a room full of weapons. "Erm…excuse me," he started timidly, "Who's supposed to be in here with you?" he shifted from foot to foot, nervous in the presence of the master assassin.

Natasha smiled at him as she sat up straighter in her chair, and then looked down at the papers strewn in front of her. She knew very well who she was paired with, but she decided to play dumb. "Kendall Lee. Would you please send her in?" Natasha asked with a smile.

Matthew walked away, leaving the door slightly ajar. Natasha could hear murmuring in the hallway. Seconds later, Kendall walked in. She gave one last wave to the team and then shut the door behind her.

"So...I guess we move on?" Matthew said once the door had closed.

After a few more minutes of guessing the remaining three finally sorted themselves out. Ethan found his door next. In his room was none other than genius billionaire playboy philanthropist himself, Tony Stark. The room was decked out with a miniature track, some heavy looking weights, and a whiteboard.

After Ethan found his room, there were only two left. Alex and Matthew each chose one, figuring there was a 50/50 chance of getting it right. Fortunately, they did. Waiting for Alex in her room sat Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye. Alex saw some targets along the walls along with a bow and arrow. On a table, there was also some standard equipment you'd see for a checkup at the doctor's office. There was a modified eye chart, a hearing machine, and, oddly, several vials. Alex hesitated at the door, but walked in reluctantly when Clint sent her a friendly smile.

Matthew's room was at the very end of the hallway. He seriously debated just turning around and walking away. There was no one in the hallway. No one would notice if he left. Well, the person behind the other side of the door would, but no one else. It wasn't like he really wanted to be here, anyway. He had pretty much been forced by Natasha and Director Fury. After a few long seconds of internal debate, he made up his mind. He took a deep breath and walked hurriedly through the door. He found none other than Bruce Banner awaiting him. Matthew's eyes grew as wide as saucers. 'Good thing I didn't skip out,' he thought to himself.

"Hi," Bruce said, standing up and moving towards Matthew. "I'm Bruce." He extended his hand and threw the teen a warm, disarming smile.

"Matthew," the boy said, shaking Bruce's outstretched appendage, "but you know that already."

Bruce just smiled in response. "Well, why don't we get started? No point in wasting anybody's time."

Matthew nodded, and then they both took their seats. He was still on his guard, but decided to loosen up. Better to take an evaluation test while relaxed. It allowed fewer margins for error.

"I see in your file that you're pretty good at math problems?" Matthew almost laughed at that.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Let's test it, shall we?" Bruce said while heading over to a set of white boards behind Matthew. Matthew followed him and stood before the board. Bruce was hard at work writing equations and calculations in a frenzy, spreading a slur of numbers and symbols across each board. Once he was finished he spoke up again. "Now I'm going to time you. All you have to do is complete the equations. You can do them short-hand if you want to. When you're finished, let me know so we can move on to the technical part of this little test. I wouldn’t worry about that though; all you have to do is defuse a live bomb."

Matthew's jaw almost hit the floor. His nerves went into overdrive and his heartbeat sped up to a staccato rhythm. He approached the board and attacked the first problem with vigor. This was going to be a long day.

In the room across the hallway from Matthew's, Ethan was idly chatting with Tony. Both were casually slouched in their chair with their feet up on the table. They didn't talk much about themselves. After sharing a slew of inappropriate jokes and embarrassing stories about the rest of the Avengers, Tony got down to business.

"Look, after last time we met, you owe me. Sooo…let's get this little exam over with so we can both leave."

"Agreed," said Ethan gratefully.

"If you would be oh so kind as to follow me over to the conveniently placed weights," Tony gestured towards them, "we can get this show on the road."

Ethan stood and followed him. He was ready to make some sarcastic comment about the whole ordeal, but refrained. He examined the weights and noticed the first set weighed 500 pounds. Inwardly Ethan shrugged. That was nothing to him. As he looked up the line he noticed the weights became more and more heavy. Sighing he stepped up to the first one. He looked over at Tony expectantly and noticed he had obtained a clipboard and appeared to be writing things down before Ethan had even begun.

"All systems go. You can start when you're ready." He said, not looking up from the clipboard. Ethan was almost positive Tony was doodling and scoffed. After a look from the Avenger, he lifted the first weight. He found it about as easy as lifting a laptop. After placing it none too gently on the floor, he picked up the next one. That one was a tad heavier, but not by much.

Ten weights later, Ethan was starting to struggle. He finally had to stop at 2,000 pounds. He managed to get the weight a couple inches off the ground, but then dropped it. At this point a thin sheen of sweat was coating his skin and he wasn't in the best of moods. He impatiently stared Tony down until the man finally looked up from his drawing.

"Ah, you're done," he said, clapping his hands together as he stowed the clipboard under his arm. "Not bad for a rookie. You'll get better with time. Hopefully. Now, on to phase two!"

Ethan rolled his eyes. "How would you feel if I just walked out?" he asked sullenly, annoyed that Tony wasn't even feigning interest in the test.

"Well…personally, I wouldn't care much. It doesn't make a difference to me what you do or don't do. Just makes my job easier. I would highly recommend staying, though. This is a once in a lifetime chance, kid. I'd take it. Especially after seeing the way your old life was," he said, hinting at where he had found Ethan all those years ago.

Ethan contemplated this for a moment. He started towards the door, but changed his mind upon seeing Stark's face.

"Good choice," Tony said as he walked towards the mini track. "Now, you're going to run for oh, I'd say ten minutes. I'll wait a bit until you get up to full speed and then clock you."

Ethan snorted. "You gonna use one of those thingys the cops do on cars?"

"No, I'm going to use something much more high tech then those 'thingys'."

Ethan shrugged once more and walked onto the track. He stretched dramatically and over exaggerated his warm-up just to make Tony wait a little longer. Once he was ready he gave the man a nod. Wanting to impress his temporary mentor, he sped off. Running felt natural to him. He could go on forever and seemed to never tire. He had never pushed his limits before and wasn't too keen on trying it anytime soon.

After around ten minutes of running, Tony called him to a stop.

"What was my speed?" Ethan asked impatiently.

"Uhh…" Tony checked his device. "Around 65 miles per hour, give or take a few. I think there's room for improvement."

Ethan gave him a scowl.

A few doors away from Ethan, Alex was hard at work. She had taken some time in the beginning to talk to Clint a bit in order to ease the tension in the room. She found that he was really interesting. At first she had pegged him as a loner who disliked social interaction, but apparently if you got him talking he actually enjoyed it. While she told him of her brief life in China as a toddler and her adjustment to life in the States, he told her stories of his life before S.H.I.E.L.D. After they shared bits and pieces of their backstories, they began to discuss likes and dislikes. After that they got serious about the task at hand..

"I saw you shooting at the target range earlier. It looks like you're pretty handy with a bow and arrow," Clint said as they approached the targets.

"Yeah, I've had some experience," Alex said indifferently.

"Well, for this test I'm going to have you try again, only this time you'll be timed. I'll be seeing how many arrows you can fire accurately with distractions and in a limited amount of time," he said.

Alex just nodded. She really didn't mind what happened as long as she got the opportunity to shoot targets. She picked up the bow in front of her and slung the quiver over her back. Lining herself up with the target, she judged them to be about 28-30 meters away from her. She really hadn't thought the room was that big from the outside, but she didn't dwell on it for long.

As Alex set up her stance, she nodded towards Clint to signal that he could begin to time her. Just as she was about to draw back, lights started flashing and sirens blared around her. She jumped in surprise and the bow went slack.

"What is all this?!" She shouted over the noise.

"I told you you'd have distractions!" Clint shouted back, making a note on his clipboard. Alex exhaled deeply, blowing her bangs out of her face. Taking her stance again, she briefly nodded to Clint as she began.

She had five minutes and a full quiver. After the first two minutes, the noises and lights faded into nothing. It was just her and the target. By the time Clint called for five minutes she had used all of her arrows. She and Clint walked down to the target and examined it. Alex's heightened eyesight gave her an advantage over normal archers. She had tried to keep her arrows spaced neatly so they wouldn't hit each other, and had managed to make a crude ring in the center of the target. Only one of the arrows had gone astray.

"Impressive," she thought she heard Clint say.

"Well thank you!" She responded.

"I didn't say anything…" Clint said in a confused tone.

"Oh… Um, never mind," she said awkwardly.

"Anyway, now we have the second part of the test. Stay here," he said, walking away from Alex towards the front of the room. He grabbed something from the table and advanced towards her, stopping about twenty feet away. He held up a paper with several sentences written on it and asked her to read them back to him. From what she could see, the sentences were written in standard 12 pt Times New Roman font. She did so with ease, and he started moving backwards. After the distance had increased to about sixty feet, the words on the page started to blur. Clint wrote down her results and offered an encouraging smile. After that they moved on to other tests that would gauge her hearing and smelling. They established that her senses were about 3 times as powerful as those of a normal person.

By that point, Alex was ready to go to bed- but they still had to test her mind reading skills. She sighed and slumped in her seat.

At that moment, Cadel and Steve were getting along just fine. Cadel apologized once again for accidentally wiping the captain's memory. Steve assured him that he harbored no hard feelings. With that out of the way, they began talking about absolutely nothing important. Steve didn't mind that Cadel occasionally went on long, rambling tangents, and Cadel didn't mind that Steve couldn't understand half of his references. Steve would occasionally ask about his life, or how his sister Delyth was doing, or talk about what it was like in the 1940's. After about forty minutes of idle chat, they started the exam.

For the first half of Cadel's test, Steve sat him down at a computer. Consulting his notes, he told Cadel that he was supposed to clean the hard drive of all viruses and solve a string of encryptions.

Steve sat patiently next to Cadel and watched him work, taking notes as he progressed. Cadel's green eyes frantically scanned the screen. The two made very little small talk while he worked. About half an hour later, Cadel was finished. Steve stopped his stop watch.

"Good job!" Steve told him with a smile of genuine congratulations. "Even though I have no clue what you did or if that's even a good time or not."

Cadel laughed as they moved to the next portion of the test. They stood in front of a table full of objects. The first was a can of soda and the last was a car tire. In between were things ranging in all sizes. Steve told him to go down the line and use his abilities to crush the objects. Cadel smiled to himself- this would be a piece of cake.

As he concentrated his mind on the can, his pupils expanded ever so slightly. The can suddenly turned in on itself, as if crushed by an invisible hand. Steve nodded as he jotted things down and Cadel smiled, impressed at his own ability.

By the time he had moved down the entire line and reached the tire, he was mentally exhausted and ready for a good nap. His pupils had grown wide from all his efforts and the veins on the side of his forehead were showing ever so slightly.

"Come on, son, you only have one more to go," Steve told him encouragingly.

Cadel flopped down into the chair nearest to him and stared intently at the tire. He successfully inverted it, but failed to crush it completely. He was a bit disappointed with himself.

In the last room was Kendall. Since both she and Natasha were assassins their initial conversation was somewhat terse and blunt. They were wary of each other and not really up for sharing, especially Natasha, who wasn't very good with children.

After some brusque small talk, Kendall was the first to really open up. She told Natasha how her parents had died when she was young, and spoke very highly about her brothers. In return, Natasha dropped some hints about her life in Russia and many other nations before joining S.H.I.E.L.D. Neither one pushed the other, each just content to enjoy the company.

Natasha eventually decided she had done enough talking for one day, and walked towards a small target range inside the room similar to Alex's. Kendall followed her, brimming with curiosity. On the table in front of her was the same Glock 19 they had used earlier in the gym.

"In this portion of the test, you'll be shooting moving targets. Try to shoot as many as you can, but keep in mind that we're looking for precision as well as the simple ability to hit a moving object."

Kendall nodded in response. "I'll do my best." She put on her safety goggles and took her stance. Natasha gave her a curt nod, and then started the assessment.

There were about twenty human-shaped targets. They all moved at a rapid pace, zigzagging their way in front of each other. As their speed increased ever so slowly, they started moving towards Kendall. They started roughly thirty feet away. At twenty feet she had shot down seven. Once it reached the ten foot mark she had hit all but five. Once they were five feet away from her, they stopped moving. All but one had a bullet hole through its paper head.

Kendall put her gun down and smiled at Natasha, who shot her a small grin. They moved on towards the second part of the test- poison identification.

"I heard you like your poisons." Natasha said in a bland voice.

"I guess," Kendall responded, carefully keeping her voice just as devoid of emotion.

Her mentor led Kendall over to a table. On it were ten vials lined up in a row. "Only one of these vials is safe. The rest are toxic. You have to find the correct one."

"Simple enough." Kendall said with a nod of her head.

"We'll see about that."

Kendall picked up the first vial and looked at it carefully. On the back of each the ingredients were written. Some were obvious as to what was inside. In the case of others, you needed to know the scientific compounds of each and how they mixed. It took Kendall about a good half hour or so to find the right one, but at last she held up a vial triumphantly. Natasha looked pleased as she took note of the girl's progress.

"Alright, onto part three, hand-to-hand combat."

"I'm going to be fighting you?" Kendall asked in disbelief. This woman had a good ten or more years of experience on her.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy." Natasha said with a crooked smile.

Kendall shrugged and took a stance. Natasha followed suit. They had moved into a little boxing-like ring in the corner of the room. For the first part of the fight, they watched each other and judged the other's movements. Once they started throwing punches, things got a lot more exciting. Both of them were itching to fight. You could see the fire in their eyes.

Natasha was far more superior to Kendall, but the girl put up a good fight. The fight ended when Natasha flipped Kendall onto the mat. They nodded towards each other and shook hands, the fire dying down in their eyes. Kendall thanked Natasha and then turned to leave. Natasha just sat back down and continued filling out her forms.

Kendall found the hallway to be empty once again. She pressed an ear against the doors of her teammates and listened intently, checking if anyone else was finished. Two of the four doors were silent. She could hear muffled voices resonating from behind the others.

Kendall walked slowly towards the elevator that could take her back down to her room. She desperately wanted to shower and get some dinner.

**Level 2, Commissary**

**17:49**

By the time Kendall had showered and made her way to the cafeteria, almost all of her team members were there already. She noted that the only one absent was Matthew. She grabbed her food and hurried towards the table. Alex gave her a warm smile as Cadel moved aside to make room for her.

"That was exciting, wasn't it?" Alex said enthusiastically.

"No kidding! Steve was honestly the coolest guy ever." Cadel said as he wolfed down his food, his metabolism raging.

"Yeah, Tony was alright for a rich guy," Ethan stated, feigning indifference.

"Natasha was nice. She seemed kind of standoffish though."

"I still can't believe we met them." Alex said, a big, goofy grin spreading across her features.

"I think I'll sleep like a log tonight." Cadel said with a smile.

Just then Matthew stumbled towards their table. He looked as if he was about to pass out.

"Whoa, what happened to you, man?" Ethan asked as he looked his teammate up and down.

"Bruce decided to make me defuse a live bomb right after I had completed a few hours' worth of mathematical equations," Matthew said as he flopped down at the table.

"Well, at least the bomb didn't go off," Alex said with a shrug.

Matthew scoffed. "It was three seconds away from detonating. Bruce was in no way about to stop me. He can Hulk out all he wants and walk away with hardly a scratch on him. Too bad I can't do that…" he said, trailing off. Ethan laughed rather loudly at his dilemma.

"I think I would take those exams over morning boot camp any day," Kendall said with a grimace. As the team laughed, an unexpected visitor walked up behind them.

"Director Fury and I received your results from the team. They all spoke very highly of you." Agent Kelson told them. The team turned to face her. "For the rest of the month you'll do your scheduled morning training every day. We'll schedule some more training with the Avengers again periodically until you're np longer in need of the training." She smiled sweetly at the kids, then hesitated, the smile leaving her face as quickly as it had come. "I know this will be hard for all of you," she said quietly, "but you are our hope for the future. We're going to need you, and probably sooner than you would think- or I would wish." She paused, blinking rapidly. "No matter what happens, never forget that we are proud of you for doing this." She swallowed heavily, turned on her heel, and walked away.

After dinner, with this strange news and their own exhaustion weighing them down, the team went straight to bed. No exploring the helicarrier or chit-chat. They went straight to sleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.


End file.
